Posted on : Oct.26,2006 16:20 KST
Gifts, employee discounts more effective incentives than in rest of Asia
Korean office workers seem to respond to surprise gifts and discounts from their employers than in other Asian countries, according to a survey.
International survey firm Aquent announced on October 25 the results of their survey of 5,658 office workers in seven Asia-Pacific countries, who are engaged in marketing, advertising, and PR fields.
The survey showed that of "strategies to secure and maintain personnel," the most often used among Korean employers were an employee discount (ranked first) and surprise gifts (ranked second). Training programs, discounts on mobile phone service, and differentiated bonuses were among the other popular strategies used by employers in South Korea.
In other countries, the differentiated bonus was more widely used as an employee incentive - it was ranked in No. 2 in China and Singapore and No. 3 in Australia. Use of time-share vacation properties ranked fifth in use by Japanese employers.
In Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, career development programs were the most-used incentive. The surprise gift, number two in Korea, did not make it into the top 10 in any of the other countries surveyed.
Choi Byeong-Gwan of Apple Tree, which handles publicity for Aquent, said that "the survey results are an indication of the fact that the ’emotional management’ tactic employed through the giving of gifts seems to be a good method of employee motivation in Korea."
